One year after the Hamas massacre on October 7th, the war has expanded into a regional conflict, involving Lebanon and later Iran. In Gaza, the death toll has reached nearly 42,000. Most of Hamas’ leadership – except for Yahya Sinwar – has been killed, as well as Hasan Nasrallah and much of Hezbollah’s leadership. Meanwhile, 97 Israeli hostages remain in Hamas’ hands, and violence in the West Bank has become increasingly frequent, with many analysts warning of a potential “Gaza-fication” of the area. Reset DOC reached Prof. Olivier Roy, Professor of Political Science at the European University Institute (Florence).
hezbollah
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- Riccardo Cristiano 2 October 2024According to the BBC, the missile attack on Hezbollah’s general command bunker is said to have caused 492 casualties, in addition to the wounded. The Israeli army has announced the killing, among others, of Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and nearly the entire senior leadership of the party. The number of Lebanese casualties, especially in southern Lebanon and the Shiite neighborhoods of Beirut, remains unknown, as no one can yet account for those trapped beneath the rubble. Israeli forces have gained control of strategic positions near the border, while hand-to-hand combat between Hezbollah militants and Israeli soldiers has already claimed eight Israeli lives. Despite these developments, few believe Hezbollah will disappear
- Vanessa Breidy 28 September 2024Until September 17, the situation was still under control in Lebanon. That changed when around 3,000 Hezbollah-linked pagers exploded simultaneously around 3:30 PM. Twenty-four hours later, another round of explosions hit hundreds of walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members. On September 20, commanders from Hezbollah’s Radwan force, a special operations unit, were assassinated in the suburbs of Beirut. By September 23, the conflict had peaked with heavy bombardment in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley, killing over 500 people, many of whom were civilians, women, and children. Attacks on Hezbollah leaders have continued daily, and bombings have reached Byblos and Keserwan. In response, Hezbollah has launched rockets at Haifa and targeted Tel Aviv, a first since the war began.
- Vanessa Breidy 31 July 2024Twenty-four hours after Israel’s declaration of war following October 7, 2023, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Hasan Nasrallah announced a “war of support for Gaza” from South Lebanon. This declaration was made solely by the political armed party Hezbollah, not the Lebanese government, thus constituting a clear violation of Lebanese state sovereignty and the rule of law. This breach has elicited varied reactions from Lebanese parties, with some Christian parties declaring the inevitability of political system reform and emphasizing the necessity of opening up the debate as soon as the war ends.
- Luca Steinmann 12 October 2018The Syrian war seems to slowly be reaching its end and Assad’s regime may no longer require a strong military presence of foreign fighters on its soil. But what about the welfare system those foreign fighters have helped establish? Would it also disappear with the retreat of Shiites militias? If so, then the government will remain interested in having Hezbollah on its territory to support its very delicate attempts to mend the deep fractures that the war created inside the Syrian society.